Water and wastewater “decision-makers” are the target audience for a May 25 symposium on “Exploring Ocean Outfalls as a Wastewater Management Alternative for Cape Cod.”

“When one considers it takes 3-5 acres to dispose of 1 million gallons of clean effluent on the surface, this option may need to be reexamined in some communities,” Falmouth wastewater Supt. Jerry Potamis wrote in an email. “It may help in regionalization since disposal on land is very difficult on the Cape.”

Barnstable’s Citizens Advisory Committee for comprehensive wastewater management is among the groups that have wondered out loud about the possibility of an ocean outfall.

Organizers of the all-day conference include Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Citizens for the Protection of Waquoit Bay. The brochure for the event recognizes the controversy over such facilities, and notes the symposium “is not meant to advocate for ocean outfalls.”

The meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Cape Cod & Islands Realtors Conference Center on Mid-Tech Drive in Yarmouth, “may be the first time Cape residents can listen to state regulators and scientists discuss Ocean Outfall and if it is applicable to the Cape, under which circumstances, will it deplete groundwater resources, is it environmentally and economically sustainable or simply a pipe dream,” Potamis wrote.

A full agenda and list of speakers, including Barnstable DPW Director Mark Ells, can be found at www.waquoitbayreserve.org, which is also the site for registration for the free conference.